This invention relates to a lighting controller circuit for lamps and lamp loads. More particularly, this invention concerns an operating circuit for lamps wherein lamp intensity remains constant over a wide range of input voltages by providing a regulated output voltage limited to 12 volts to the lamp and lamp load, regardless of input line variations. The controller circuit for voltage regulated output allows use of varied lamp wattages.
The present invention accordingly relates to an operating circuit for lamps and lamp loads wherein a voltage controller regulates output voltage to maintain 12 volts regardless of input line variations. In particular, this invention relates to a solid state DC operating circuit for pulsed operation of loads comprising lamps. The circuit is designed to reduce conventional 120 volt AC to 12 volt pulsating DC to operate a xe2x80x9cpoint of usexe2x80x9d light source located within or very near the lighting controller circuit. The output voltage remains constant and output current is limited to avoid an overcurrent condition from load current demands. The output power is limited to a range of from 20 to 75 watts to eliminate the effects of current overlead, improper wiring or any other cause of current overload.
It is an object of this invention to provide a pulsating DC voltage operating circuit for operation of lamps and lamp loads from a conventional 120 volt AC source to supply a constant output of pulsating DC voltage.
It is further object of this invention to provide a pulsating DC voltage operating circuit for operation of loads which is self-controlling to avoid an overcurrent condition from load current demands.
It is another object of this invention to provide a circuit to provide a constant pulsating DC voltage output and operates to avoid an overcurrent condition from load current demands by limiting output current.
In view of the above objects, the present invention relates to a load operating circuit comprising, in combination, an AC power source; a full wave bridge rectifier circuit to convert the AC line voltage to pulsating DC voltage; a switch means across said full wave bridge rectifier circuit comprising a pulse width modulator (PWM) controller integrated circuit comprising an oscillator circuit to produce an output voltage to bias the gate of a field effect transistor to induce energy into the primary of a step-down transformer; a circuit comprising a capacitor and a resistor to set the oscillator frequency to produce an output voltage by the integrated circuit to bias the gate of said field effect transistor; a circuit comprising a capacitor and a resistor to set the oscillator frequency to produce an output voltage by the integrated circuit to bias the gate of said field effect transistor; a step-down transformer with a primary winding and two secondary windings, the primary winding receiving energy from said field effect transistor and pulsating DC voltage from rectified AC line voltage of said bridge rectifier circuit, the first secondary winding providing lower voltage to the lamp load, the second secondary winding providing a feedback voltage to said switch means by a feedback voltage regulator circuit; a field effect transistor turned on by output voltage from said switch means to bias the gate of said field effect transistor; a voltage regulator circuit regulating the voltage input to the switch means said voltage regulator circuit comprising a zener diode, a line voltage-dropping resistor, a line voltage filter capacitor; a feedback voltage regulator circuit from said second secondary winding of said transformer to said switch means through a first center connection divider network of two capacitors and a second center connection divider network of two resistors to provide feedback voltage developed over said feedback circuit to feed a control circuit of said switch means; a control circuit for said switch means to set the gain of internal circuitry of the switch means comprising the pulse width modulator integrated circuit, and operates to set the gain of said internal circuitry; an internal circuit within said switch means to compare said feedback voltage developed over said feedback circuit with predetermined voltage levels produced by said oscillator circuit of said PWM integrated circuit to set oscillator output frequency to reduce overcurrent product of increased lamp load draw, whereby output DC voltage pulse duration of said PWM integrated circuit to said field effect transistor controls the DC voltage output of said transformer to supply a constant output voltage applied to the load; a voltage sensing circuit comprising a voltage sensing resistor to provide a voltage proportional to current drawn through the said field effect transistor and the primary of said step down transformer to cause the pulse width modulation voltage of the PWM modulator to the gate of the field effect transistor to respond to changes in the load to limit the output current to the lamp load.
The output of the low voltage power supply by a voltage controller of this invention is regulated or limited by a voltage controller to maintain a low voltage of limited range to operate a lamp wherein lamp intensity remains constant over a wide range of input voltages to the controller by providing constant power, as measured in watts, to operate the lamp, the regulated voltage of 12 volts pulsating DC to the lamp providing power of from 20 to 75 watts. In the instant invention, a field effect transistor is utilized to effect control over a wide range of input voltage in conjunction with a pulse width modulator (PWM) circuit; a feedback loop is utilized to effect control of current drawn by the lamp load in conjunction with the pulse width modulator (PWM) circuit.
In the prior art, Hiles, U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,444 discloses a high intensity lamp which uses a voltage regulator to correct power input to a lamp bulb in the event of variation of power loss due to wear and tear on the electrodes of the high intensity lamp and variations due to magnetism or shock. The devise utilizes pulse width modulation (PWM) to regulate the output of the voltage regulator. Output of the voltage regulator amplifier is connected to one input of the amplifier of the PWM circuit. The other input is connected to the output of a frequency oscillator and triangle wave generator. A zener diode acts as a circuit protector. Vatis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,614 discloses a lamp lighting control system which provides constant wattage to maintain light output at a desired level A power supply circuit is connected to an autotransformer to provide a voltage regulated direct current, a trigger circuit for firing a triac, a differential amplifier circuit to control the phase interval at which the triac is fired, and a voltage reference circuit between the lamp and the trigger circuit to control the voltage reference circuit. Owens, U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,148 discloses a ballast control device for a lamp which compensates for variation in line voltage and lamp voltage by controlling the power supply by coupling a triac to the supply line, a triggering current for firing the triac, a non-linear amplifier current for controlling the phase interval of firing the triac, a synchronizing circuit for synchronizing the triac firing with the lamp voltage and a voltage reference circuit for controlling the non-linear amplifier circuit in response to changes in the lamp voltage. Owens, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,543, discloses a lamp operating circuit of a thysistor switch in series with the lamp, an RC timing circuit for turning on the switch and an LC circuit for turning off the switch, a transformer secondary winding in series with a diode to clamp voltage of the primary winding. The arrangement provides control of lamp wattage with changes in lamp voltage. Michalski, U.S. Pat. No. 3,622,838 discloses a pulsed electric system for operating a gas discharge lamp which automatically controls an alternating current supply to maintain constant lamp output using bidirectional thyristors (triacs) as switching means which are turned on by diode AC switches. The gas discharge lamp is operatively connected directly across the AC supply source. The switching means is controlled to energize the lamp, dividing each half cycle. The discharge lamp is operated in series with the switching means directly from the power lines without use of conventional energy storage devices such as capacitors or an inductor. White, U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,220 discloses a switching mode DC-to-DC power supply with current sensing which uses feedback to control output voltage and maintain a constant voltage. The power supply circuit has a power MOS transistor connected in series with half of the primary of a center-tapped transformer and has rectifiers in series with an inductive load on the secondary side. The gate of the power transistor is driven by a pulse width modulated source. The pulse width modulator is an integrated circuit of standard design. An inhibit circuit is included which responds to current through the power transformer to prevent current spikes from affecting the pulse width modulator.
A variety of other proposals have been made embodying control circuits for lamps. Illustrative proposals are those set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,614 B1 to Robert Erhardt; U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,363 to Joseph M. Allison; U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,326 to Allan A. Nostwick; U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,717 to Paulus P. B. Arts, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,038 to Louis R. Nerone; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,971 to Francis H. Gerhard, et al. A switching rectifier power supply circuit is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,220 to Allan V. White, as is a rectifier power supply circuit which has a pair of power MOS transistors, the gates of which are driven by a pulse-width modulator source, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,555 to Allan V. White. An integrated circuit (IC) switching voltage regulator circuit which produces a 12 volt output independent of load and input voltage fluctuations is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,918 to Mineo Yamatake.
Although the proposals of these and other patents have addressed selected problems such as lamp life and maintaining light output at selected levels, and controlling lamp wattage with changes in lamp voltage, there yet remains unresolved drawbacks to their use. Thus, for example, among other problems, there have continued to be problems such as maintaining light intensity over a wide range of input voltages and limiting the range of output current from the power source to provide a limited range of output power and eliminate the effect of current overload due to improper wiring or any other cause of current overloading of the power supply.
Although various of the foregoing problems have been partly addressed by prior proposals, there has continued to be a need for a comprehensive low voltage power supply circuit that supplies power regardless of lamp voltages; that maintains a constant lamp output over a wide range of voltages which will extend lamp life; wherein the circuit is not load or wattage sensitive; when a short or overload condition is detected, the device will xe2x80x9cgo to sleepxe2x80x9d; when the short/overload is removed, the device will xe2x80x9cwake upxe2x80x9d, and eliminate the need to replace a fuse or operate a circuit breaker.
Accordingly, in the prior art it is well-known to utilize a means for controlling line voltage to reduce line variations or to control power to supply line power (wattage) at a constant value. In general, it is well-known to utilize a feedback method to obtain the needed control using solid state circuitry to obtain the desired results, in some cases, the solid state circuitry being in the form of integrated circuits commercially available. However, the concept of each element of the instant invention, the related use of an integrated circuit in conjunction with a field effect transistor and feedback control circuits, the need to obtain a regulated voltage output of 12 volts DC regardless of input line variations to obtain constant wattage to a lamp so that lamp intensity remains constant over a wide range of input line voltage variations, and the need to limit output current to avoid an over current condition from load current demands and to supply the provision and use of power from 20 watts to 75 watts have not been known to the inventor. While other prior patents make reference to various constant wattage and voltage regulating functions, none that are known to the inventor hereof reveal a specific workable circuit for achieving and meeting the above needs of supplying proper voltage and current levels regardless of lamp wattages at a low cost.
This invention relates to a novel voltage controller designed to reduce a conventional 120 volt AC power source to 12 volts pulsating DC for the purpose of operating a single xe2x80x9cpoint of usexe2x80x9d light source or lamp wherein the controller is located within the light source or lamp support, or very near thereof, and wherein the output from the controller is regulated to maintain a constant 12 volt pulsating DC output despite input line variations in operation of the light source and to control the current output of the voltage controller to within a narrow range of power as measured in watts. Lamp intensity remains constant over a wide range of line input voltages by providing constant limited wattage to the lamp. A feedback loop effectuates such control in conjunction with a pulse width modulator (PWM) circuit. A diode bridge network on the AC line input provides pulsating voltage to the switching element comprising a PWM integrated circuit interval oscillator. An output pulse therefrom in conjunction with a field effect transistor controls the reduced supply voltage to the load through a transformer. A feedback voltage to the PWM integrated circuit from the load side of the transformer sets the gain of the internal circuitry of the PWM integrated circuit. Current demands on the transformer secondary are sensed by solid state circuitry of a feedback loop. If the voltage sensed by the PWM integrated circuit exceeds predetermined levels, as a product of overcurrent, output pulse duration is reduced to safe levels by the feedback circuitry.